


Parameters

by kiyala



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh!
Genre: Kissing, M/M, Virtual Reality, set pre-dsod
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-11
Updated: 2017-02-11
Packaged: 2018-09-23 13:26:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,177
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9659366
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kiyala/pseuds/kiyala
Summary: Seto is still working on fine-tuning his simulator to duel the Pharaoh again.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [kazesuke](https://archiveofourown.org/users/kazesuke/gifts).



Seto refuses to call it an obsession.

It feels like something _more_ , burrowing its way under Seto's skin and taking up residence there. It's not a preoccupation and it doesn't feel right to call it a goal, either. 

It's a purpose. The driving force between the long nights he spends, doing the work that he doesn't trust his R&D department to do properly; the kind of work that just isn't satisfying unless it's a direct product of his hands, his code, and his time. Besides, this isn't something that just _anyone_ can achieve. This isn't something that he's interested in selling, or even exhibiting for the public to watch. This is purely for himself, for his own satisfaction. 

Seto doesn't care if Yuugi is content to let the Pharaoh disappear from their world without a trace; he isn't, and he isn't going to give up without a fight. Not without one last duel and the victory that he's spent the last years craving, more than he's craved anything else in his entire life. Compared to this, all of his previous success is nothing. The company he leads, the name he's made for himself, all of it is meaningless when he still has loose ends to tie with the Pharaoh. 

He has the Pharaoh's deck perfectly memorised. That was the easiest part to simulate. The Pharaoh himself is easier to recreate from memory than Seto expects; he has an entire database of footage of the Pharaoh, pulled from every recorded duel he's participated in, ready to be used for reference when needed, but Seto doesn't even touch any of it. All he has to do is think about the Pharaoh and he appears, perfect from a glance, but Seto isn't satisfied with that. 

In the virtual reality chamber, Seto almost feels like he's alone with the Pharaoh. There are already algorithms in place to make the projection behave in a similar manner to the real thing. When Seto steps closer, Atem watches him with amusement shining bright in his eyes as if this, too, is a game. 

Perhaps it is. Seto has no intention of losing this, either. 

The height difference is correct, down to the millimetre. Seto is used to frowning down at the Pharaoh at this exact angle, the same as he's used to having the Pharaoh smirk up at him just like this. 

"Satisfied, Kaiba?" Atem asks, and Seto notes that the simulation even has the timbre of his voice perfected. Seto is unprepared for the way that it makes something stir in his chest, but he quickly stamps it out of existence. He's just excited that his plans are finally coming together after all the hard work he's put into it. 

"I won't be satisfied until I've crushed you, Pharaoh," he replies evenly, his hands balling into fists at his sides. 

It earns him a chuckle, reminding him that this is a game. Seto likes to think of everything in life as something that he can win at. There's no satisfaction until he's won and he hasn't yet worked out how he's going to come out of this interaction as the victor just yet, but there is no way that he's going to lose to a simple projection. Not when they haven't even started duelling yet; that part of the simulation is still under development. Seto isn't willing to try it out until he knows that it's going to run smoothly and right now, there's still a two percent chance for error. Seto has no intention of letting even something that small get in the way of his grand rematch. When he finally beats the Pharaoh, he's going to do it in a way that leaves absolutely no doubt of the outcome. 

"Tell me, Kaiba," Atem is smiling in that infuriating way of his, like he's already three steps ahead when Seto still hasn't even worked out what kind of game they're playing. Another point in favour of how realistic the simulation is, he thinks. Atem tilts his head to the side, regarding him with amusement. "How are we going to compete when we can't duel yet? Do you have anything else in mind?"

Seto doesn't, and he doubts that Atem does either. For all that Seto has compiled data on every aspect of the Pharaoh that he could, he knows that there's a heavy focus on his duelling. Behaviour might not be easy to predict, but given enough parameters, it's something that Seto can program. Duelling makes it even easier because there are even more rules, there are limited paths of action and it comes down to probability and strategy.

The rest of human behaviour isn't quite as simple, but Seto takes pride in his ability to code AI all the same. Programming the Pharaoh's behaviour is almost the same, only with more personality quirks thrown in. It's not entirely unpredictable—nothing is when it's operating within the rules Seto has created for it—but that doesn't mean that he can anticipate the next step of their strange dance, either.

He's certainly not expecting Atem to take a step closer, his fingers curling in Seto's jacket and tugging, making him stumble forward. Atem meets him halfway with a solid kiss and Seto feels himself burn. Only because he hadn't even considered this as a possible next step, he tells himself. He's burning at being unprepared. He kisses back because it's the only option available to him other than backing out, and he isn't going to do that. He parts his lips against Atem's, resting one hand on his shoulder, fingers digging into the material of his jacket hard enough that he would leave bruises if any of this was real—which it isn't, he firmly reminds himself even though the virtual reality is incredibly convincing. It's a good step forward for his Solid Vision system, he thinks with the part of his mind that isn't spinning at the feeling of Atem's lips on his. 

This is still a game, he reminds himself. He pulls Atem closer against himself, kissing harder. He isn't surprised by the way Atem matches him, kiss for kiss. Seto runs out of breath first, unsure if it's because the projection doesn't need to breathe, the way he does, or because Atem is better at controlling his breathing. He tells himself it's the former, not the latter. 

When the pull apart, Seto can't help but feel like he's lost.

Growling under his breath, Seto sends a wordless command to end the simulation. The last thing he sees before he's left in the empty virtual reality chamber is the Pharaoh's infuriatingly familiar smirk. 

The rest of the staff on the space station are likely asleep at the moment, but Seto pushes his own exhaustion aside. He has work that needs to be done.

More importantly, he thinks to himself as he brings up a screen and a keyboard to start adjusting code, he now has _two_ things that he needs to win rematches for. He isn't going to lose again.


End file.
